It's official! Perfect cup of tea involves adding milk first

Wellington: Milk should indeed be added first to make that perfect cup of tea.

The British Standards Institution have reached to this conclusion after reviewing the specifications last year, and have now released official guidelines for making the perfect cuppa, Stuff.co.nz reported.

For the perfectionist, the beverage should be brewed in a "white porcelain or glazed earthenware" pot, with 2g of tea per 100ml of water, which means about 2 teabags for a small pot or 4 for a big pot.

After that, it must be left to steep for 6 minutes for maximum flavour extraction, and the milk ought to be added to the cup first, that a mere teaspoon (5 ml) of in a big mug or 2.5 ml for a small cup.

The milk-first instruction is to prevent the milk proteins from binding, which messes with the taste, and water should be no hotter than 85 degrees to prevent the milk from scalding. There's also a six-page perfect tea preparation paper available for 180 dollars, or one can just follow the top tea-making tips:

For standard black tea, freshly boiled water should be used - with temperatures above 95 C (203 F).

Water should be left to cool down for at least 30 seconds when making green and white tea, with a recommended temperature of 74 C to 85 C (160 F to 203 F). Oolong tea is best steeped in 85 C (185 F) water. Herbal teas should be steeped in water with a temperature of 95 C (203 F). Temperature aside, tea should be steeped for six minutes.